CHAPTER 4‘Energiewende’ (Energy Transition) – The Way to a Better Future?
Just like sauerkraut, kindergarten or autobahn, the term Energiewende has the potential to become firmly established in the English language. It was coined in 1980, when the Freiburg-based Öko-Institut published a report entitled ‘Energie-Wende: Growth and prosperity without oil and uranium’. At the time, however, the report met with a good deal of scepticism. The book was briefly reviewed in Die Zeit (weekly newspaper) and received the verdict ‘dubious’. The term Energiewende only made its breakthrough after the reactor accident at Fukushima, Japan, in March 2011, which led to the German government's reversal of a previous decision to extend the operating life of German nuclear power plants and an announcement of a turnaround in energy policy.
It is true that the energy transition is closely linked to the nuclear phase-out. But the energy transition is not really completed until we have achieved a climate-friendly energy supply. The climate can only be saved if, in the medium term, all countries on Earth reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to almost zero. However, there are many among us who just cannot, or do not want to, imagine life without oil, natural gas and coal.
Yet, a mere 300 years ago, renewables made up the Earth's entire energy supply. It is quite certain that the world's energy supply will once again be completely carbon-free 200 years from now. By then the last deposits of fossil energy ...